Blog Archives

Last of the items to review from Born Pretty Store was this stamping plate (which can be found here). I loved the stars and the swirly pattern, but was curious as to the size of the patterns, as some I have previously tried from Born Pretty Store have been on the smaller side. Here is the plate, with the removable blue plastic on it… and as you can see, these are not small!

The first one I tried was, of course, the stars. I used A England Excalibur (the first version) as the stamping polish, and stamped a variety of stars over Dance Legend Anthem.

They turned out beautiful – I’m no expert stamper, even though I am improving, but these were lovely and clear and easy to use.

Next I tried something very different for me – the plaid pattern!

Over a nude shimmery polish I stamped the plaid in black (a stamping polish I made, but any one coat black will work), then used jelly polishes in orange and red to add some colour over the stamping. I didn’t like the effect much, so I added shimmer. And still didn’t much like it, but I have to say, the lines stamped really well, and any crookedness is just my inability to do anything straight 😀

And then finally, I used the swirly brocade like pattern

This was, again, with black, over another of my polishes. I loved this effect – simple, yet rich.

And to show the size, this is the stamp on my thumbs – which aren’t long, but they are wide, and this stamp covered it easily.

I am very impressed with this stamping plate! 😀 This was sent free for honest review, and can be found (among many others, at Born Pretty Store ). Feel free to use my discount code if you like, found along the right side task bar there – for a 10% discount.

The awesome Serra from Peacock Pie has been super busy making polishes … polishes that I can’t resist 😀 I have a whole bunch of them to share today – please excuse the short nails, I removed the acrylics. Full disclosure, most of these were bought by me (I regret NOTHING!) some were sent because she is a sweetheart, and we bounce polish back and forward to each other. So, not free for review per se, but just because I am a lucky sausage 😀

I have layered it here over Color Club Wild Cactus – one coat of Astrella over all nails except the pinky nail, which has two coats.

Next is Midnight Dreary – one from her Fairy collection, based around some gorgeous artworks by…This has periwinkle, red and black glitter and large holo silver dots (for the moon!) in a deep jelly base. I thought this would be sheer, so I layered it over Miki no 29 – just one coat… check this out, I left my index nail bare of Midnight Dreary for this photo so you can see how dense this polish is.

Gorgeous! It would be opaque on it’s own in 2 coats, I think, but I do like layering them over creme bases, it just makes the edges a bit tidier looking sometimes.But seriously, any colour underneath would work, this puppy is so dense and awesome.

Pet Storm Dragon – over Black

This is another holographic glitter topper in a clear base, but I think she made this one for me 😀 Dragon in the title, blue, purple, holographic? Yep, made it for me.

One coat over the middle two finger nails, two coats over index and pinky. So pretty! After swatching I put this combo back on 😀

Royally Sparkled – 3 coats on it’s own

I love this polish, and am sad I couldn’t get better photos of it!

This is one I should have layered, though it is plenty opaque on it’s own, just to tidy the edges up because I can’t paint straight 😀 I love the copper, gold and silver mix of glitter, and the way it pops against the purple!

and last for today is Seaweed – 3 coats

this is an interesting polish!Mid green crelly base and a mix of periwinkle and white glitters with a sprinkle of navy. I will layer this one next time too, to tidy up the edges, but it’s a very nice, slightly subdued polish.

Love these! You can check out Serra’s blog here, and I think she is changing her shop sites too, but in the meantime you can find her Etsy shop here 🙂

This is a recent mani I did to help a friend for a competition – using neons – providing an example (though, in my case, it’s normally a What Not To Do example):D

These were all over white, the yellow is Models Own Luis Lemon (love this colour, true highlighter yellow), the green is Color Club Feelin’ Groovy (brighter than that, but my camera hates green) and the orange is Color Club Wham! Pow!. I just dotted on the Wham! Pow! And outlined with a black polish (a franken black but any decent black will do) and some broken dots and lines, added top coat, and done! Neon leopard print. I really liked this, may revisit it when I can keep it on for more than 10 seconds 😀

And the mani I posted on my Facebook page recently in support of Mundo de Unas – and against bullying in any way!

This was Color Club Halo-Graphic and the darker pink is Star Kin R.S:

stamped with Mundo de Unas 10

And this is Dance Legend Mars: with a metal and rhinestone leaf decoration from Born Pretty Store

and with stamping.I liked leaving the tips free of stamping, sort of a funky french effect. I also liked this pre clean up, it reminded me of henna hand art! 😀 But, obviously, I had to tidy it up. Ah well. I didn’t take photos of it cleaned up, however. Oops. 😀

The last of the items to review from Born Pretty Store are these very, very cool 3D nail decorations. They are filigree and have stones set into them – this one is silver with a clear rhinestone, but there are others to choose from too, and can be found here.

I kept this mani simple to let the decoration stand out, the base is Star Kin Moon Dark, and all that is needed is some nail glue, and press the shield onto the nail and hold for awhile.

shade

My only complaint is that my nails all broke, and are shorter than this decoration! Wah! The measurements are on the page though, and would have fit my nail perfectly pre-break. And when they grow again, it’s going to be GREAT 😀 They are, however, a great width for me 🙂

the reflection from the decoration is freaking my camera out 😀

I am looking forward to using these on a night out too, it’s great to have a selection of fun things to jazz up a simple mani with. Free shipping from Born Pretty Store, and feel free to use my coupon code (in the right sidebar) to get 10% off. Shipping times are a bit sporadic, this time they arrived very quickly (in about a week), other times it has been 5-6 weeks, usually somewhere in between. So, I’d recommend stashing one or nice pieces for future use, and not having to be concerned about that 😀 Stockpile like a squirrel! 😀

Serra from Peacock Pie, she of the gorgeous polish jewellery, has branched out into making nail polishes! And very lovely ones, too. I bought two, and she was gorgeous and popped another two in with those for me to swatch and review. I’m just sorry my nails are so short, but these are pretty even on my nubs, and I do believe in showing polish even on short nails (they need love and colour, too!)

Firstly, and purchased by me, is Courage. These photos show two coats, and top coat.

Courage, sun

Courage is a lovely candyfloss pink with grey, white, black, and periwinkle glitters, including triangles. I love triangle glitter. 😀 This one has a nice reason for existance, too, celebrating and supporting several friends who have gone through traumatic life experiences with dignity and courage.

Courage shade

Then Butterfly Juice – 2 coats and top coat

Butterfly Juice – sun

I love the depth of this orange base, and the squishyness! I did think about layering this, but I actually like the effect with some VNL, it’s like looking into a liquified butterfly. Although that sounds gross now I write it, and this polish is PRETTY. Not gross. Sigh. More coffee, methinks.

Butterfly Juice – shade

And thirdly, Locket. 3 coats and top coat

Locket – sun

This is gorgeous – and not one I bought, what was I THINKING? I would buy it though. I love the depth to the crelly, and the base colour, but especially the contrast between the turquoise base and the neon yellow and copper glitters. Yes. I like. A lot.

Locket – shade

And lastly, and one I did buy, Inki-Winkle. 2 coats and top coats.

Inki-winkle – sun

Hahaha everyone should buy this one! This is my favourite of the bunch, which is saying something because I like them all. It’s just gorgeous, and I can see me wearing this one heaps. Maybe even with some nail art? 😀

Inki-winkle – shade

You can check out Serra’s blog here, and her Etsy page is here. Facebook here!

Have an awesome day

Ami

NB: Inki-winkle and Courage purchased by me, Locket and Butterfly Juice sent for honest review. ❤

My little stash of OPI untrieds have grown to a stage where I think they have earned their own post 🙂

The Color To Watch- 3 coats no top coat, ring finger has one coat over Kleancolor Black

Some colours just scream out to be layered, and I’ve started listening. Pretty dusty grey purple with blue shimmer, yes, but over black it’s stunning. Sorry about the mess, my chicken was sleeping on me and when I went to get up and take the photo, he flapped his wing and took out a goodly portion of the polish. My patch job was inadequate.

My Pointe Exactly – jelly, very sheer. 3 coats

Very sheer, as you can see. If your nails are in better condition than mine this would be a nice soft neutral look, glossy and squishy. But why do I like it? Well..

it makes a perfect jelly sandwich polish 😀 This is one coat over Crown Me Already 🙂

OPI Crown Me Already – 1 coat over My Pointe Exactly

This is a destashed polish, and it’s so thick it’s almost unworkable (even after about 15 drops of thinner) but I’ll add more, it’s super sparkly and would easily be opaque in two coats. Nice!

Peace, Love & OPI – 2 coats, very close to being a one coater!

Predominantly shifts between grey, green and purple. It is quite chrome, so brushstrokes can show, though they mostly dry out. My recommendation is to finish each nail with a brushstroke down the very centre of each nail, even up the lines 😀

Muir Muir on the Wall – 2 coats

This looked like a darker version of Peace, Love & OPI in the bottle, but on the nail they are completely different. Not as colour shifting, but a more flattering colour base, this looks to me to shift between a maroon red and gold, catching a glimpse of green around the edges. Me likey!

An Affair in Red Square – 1 coat. Not sure if this would be a one coater normally, it’s an older polish and has thickened a lot. Took a whole eyedropper of thinner to become workable.

Pretty, deep shimmery red.

Blue My Mind – 2 coats

I was expecting this to be a pretty wishy washy colour for some reason, and it’s not. It’s gorgeous. That purple duochrome just sneaks around the edges, though I couldn’t capture it here.

Can’t see any lavender 😀 Love this though, so girly and sparkly, but I like it over black best 😀

OPI DESIGNER SERIES POLISHES

Temptation – 2 coats, no top coat

You could leave this with no top coat for a textured look, or top coat it for maximum bling. There’s a lot of glitter here though, I’d recommend a couple of top coats if you want smooth. I like the little turquoise glitters in the red toned purple.

Extravagance – 2 coats. Very close to being a one coater.

Love this one, too! A plum coloured polish I can wear! Yay! 😀

Magic – 3 coats.

I want to layer this over black! The duochrome (blue to purple) does show, but I want to see how much it pops over black sometime.

What a pretty polish!

DS Classic

Two coats. oooooh. ahhhhhh. LOVE!

And… the sunlight just disappeared. Maybe they weren’t joking about those thundery rainstorms on the weather forecast. Regardless, I can’t show you (or see!) the holographic shimmer, but looking at the particles here, even in dim light, I think it will be awesome. Dries fast!

I was contacted again by the friendly Daisy from Born Pretty Store to ask whether I’d like to review a few more products for them, and um yes, yes I would 😀 They are so much fun! I went for a few new-to-me items, like these metal fox nail decorations (find them here) and waited with anticipation.

Well.

These are amazing. I am wearing one here over a Handmade by Kyleigh Starry Starry Knight. I haven’t top coated, relying on the polish (which was damp and I just pressed Mr Fox down into the polish) to hold it in place, and it seemed very stable. I would use glue if I was going out wearing these, though, I couldn’t bear the thought of losing it 🙂 You get three in the packet 🙂

They have a decent weight to them but are not heavy and do not stick up too much, no danger of an inadvertent eye gouge here.

And, of course, they are SUPER pretty

Then I integrated another one into another mani, and I think it worked even better…

This is a skittlette mani: left – right: Lyn B Designs Double Bluff (amazing polish, post coming later), a purple jelly I made with Double Bluff dots over the top, the purple jelly with Mr Fox decoration, and purple jelly with Star Kin Dainty over the top.

These little foxes are gold with clear sparkly stones and black eyes – Born Pretty Store has heaps of others to chose from, too 🙂 My code for 10% off is AJQB10 , or you can click the Born Pretty Store icon on the right side of this page to go to their site and use the coupon – or any other 🙂

Usually, items from Born Pretty can take a goodly length of time to arrive – this time, they arrived within 9 days. That is right up there with the quickest arrival from China, and I’m really impressed, and hoping that will be the new trend 🙂 I have a few other reviews to show shortly, and a few other items that I have bought myself, so yes, I do buy their products as well as being sent them 😀

Have a wonderful day

Ami

*Fox nail decoration sent for review. All other items bought by myself, opinions my own 🙂

Just a quick note should anyone be interested – May has been designated as NZ Indie month – and a few of us are blogging / Facebooking / Instagramming polishes handmade in NZ – mine is mostly on my Star Kin blog, feel free to swing by and check them out if you so desire! To avoid being a braggart, I’ll be focusing as much as possible on polishes not made by me 😀

And I mean nothing nefarious by ‘massage nails’: I went on an awesome massage class leaning Lomilomi for a weekend, and well, I learned during my nursing training, and in the massage diploma course, that brightly painted nails can just not look quite right. (well, it’s outright banned in most hospitals, and then your sense of what is appropriate becomes warped, more likely). Anyway! I cut my nails short for obvious reasons, and went with a very soft neutral Color Club pink and stamped a delicate pattern on my accent nail.

Oh, the ring? Why yes, isn’t it gorgeous! My friend Serra from Peacock Pie makes the most gorgeous jewellery using nail polish, and I managed to snaffle this ring off her. And I love it 😀 It goes with everything.

The next is a polish I put on yesterday, to match a bustier I wore out dancing last night. The main colour is a deep red holographic Star Kin polish that I am planning on making available a bit later on in the year, called Holo Sailor. The stamp is done with a black holographic stamping polish I also made just for my own personal use.

The accent nail has two coats of Holo Sailor, and then put on a top coat (well, base coat, it dries slower!) and pressed on some holographic red and matte black square glitter into lines across my nail. I used the high tech method of a small wooden skewer which I dipped in water to pick up the glitters 😀 Topped off with two coats of proper top coat, it was still a bit rough to the touch but I wouldn’t have been able to sand down wood with them, and all glitters stayed firmly in place.

With the bustier – you can see I reversed the colours, but it still worked fine for me 😀

And yes, it was a great night out, good band, good friends, danced for 4 hours. Happy Ami, tired Ami 🙂

I think from vague memory these are the 4mm size, and there are 10 in the little baggie.

I didn’t want to waste them (too CUTE!) so I put one on my little fingernail, and kept the rest of the nails simple – either a straight multichrome nail polish (Star Kin Con. Shift), or with an added little half moon with Kleancolor Biker Chic or Con. Shift.

I really loved the colours in this stud, and I think it would go really nicely with almost anything, a very quick and simple way to add oomph to a mani.

They look like little beetles, or a dew drop on a green plant 😀

Born Pretty Store has some awesome nail and beauty items there as well as clothes, jewellery and many more items, and they’ve given me a coupon code (AJBQ10) which you can use for 10% off your order, if you so desire 🙂 There are links in this post, and the coupon picture at the bottom of this page on the right hand side will also take you there.

I’ll be back soon with some more nail art ideas from BPS, hopefully I’ll have a bit more time to do a better mani 😀